The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, May 13, edition that the TSX is showing a modest gain of about 2.5 per cent this year, and many of the key sectors are not even doing that well. The Globe's regular guest columnist Gordon Pape writes that energy, information technology and industrials are all in negative territory for 2025, while financials are only slightly above break-even. A few sectors, however, are outperforming. Gold is at the top of that list, which is not surprising given that the precious metal has hit several new all-time highs in recent weeks. Other mining stocks are also doing well, as are utilities, which are seen as being recession-resistant. Then there is the consumer staples group. These are the companies that either make the things we eat and drink or sell those products to us. The sector is ahead 7.2 per cent year-to-date, as of May 9. Many of the top-performing companies in the S&P/TSX Consumer Staples Index are stocks Mr. Pape already recommends buying. They include Dollarama, which is up 18.4 per cent year-to-date, Loblaw (up 15.3 per cent), Empire (up 15.3 per cent), Metro (up 15.5 per cent) and the North-West Co. (up 10.6 per cent).